A Matter of Choice
MIT stands among very few institutions in the nation regarding how it prepares its students for their future. A solid, practical education ensures that we can adapt and take care of ourselves after we graduate from college. Personally, I assume that such preparation includes the skills necessary for daily sustenance.
The Great Debate
News coverage leading up to Thursday’s Vice Presidential debate had us all believing Alaska Governor Sarah Palin lacked the skills and knowledge necessary to run for national office.
Corrections
In last Friday’s issue, the article “Grad Rat Redesigned for First Time Since 2003” incorrectly described some features of the new graduate student ring. The bezel of the new ring does not contain a slice of pizza or a crane. Those features did exist on the old ring, though are not present in the new design.
Breaking The Academia Bubble
Having attended a boarding school for the last four years, I am altogether too familiar with the term “bubble effect.” This metaphoric phrase describes the coddled isolation common amongst the verdant courtyards of academia.
The ‘Me’ Culture at MIT (and Beyond)
The “You” of YouTube is beautiful (who is immune to a bit of attention?), and the “We” of wikis and the like are everywhere. But make no mistake, at the end of the day, it’s still the “Me” that matters.
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
For most politicians, especially those facing an election in less than a month, looking good to the taxpayer is important. Anyone familiar with the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates knows how elected officials love to boast about fighting corruption, saving taxpayer money, and most recently, directing angry diatribes towards unpopular figures — and unfortunately for the market, Wall Street has never been all that popular with “Joe Six-Pack.”
Dispatches From Alaska
I learned that it takes 3000 foot-pounds of energy to stop a brown bear.
Physics Appreciates ‘Thoughtful’ Title IX Review
In an opinion piece published several weeks ago, Gary Shu speculated on the causes of the gender gap in science and engineering and decried the call for a “Title Nining” of federal science funding.
Watch the Baseball Playoffs
It’s October and the most exciting time on the sports calendar has arrived — baseball playoffs. For the first time in a long while, of the two teams I’m a fan of, neither are playing for a title in the fall. To the non-baseball aware, this means I am not a fan of the Boston Red Sox, who are sneaking into postseason play as the American League (AL) wild card. My situation is like many students in Boston, who come to school with a team (or three) to cheer on. Many of the uninitiated will leave Red Sox fans, and while that saddens my heart, at least there’s another baseball fan out there.
This Is MIT?
I chose MIT because of the stories: the great cannon heist, the police car, the student-run live-action role playing club, the simple trust that was placed in the intelligence and competence of the students — in letting them choose their own living groups that kept up their own cultures, often decades old, in letting them have a voice in any decisions affecting them. I guess I was imagining a sort of Utopia — 5000 of the funkiest, most brilliant minds from the entire country and around the world molding a homeland of their own in which to learn and live.
The Institute of Perfection
I sat down on the end of a row just before the State of the Institute speech began, and quietly introduced myself to the woman next to me. She wanted to know what I was expecting President Hockfield to talk about. I guess I was expecting a mention of the supposed drop in student integrity, or the demise of the moral hacker, both of which were highlighted in that recent e-mail that caused such uproar among students. As I explained this, the woman next to me seemed surprised, and told me she was wondering about the status of the Stata leakage lawsuit.
Institute Wisdom Watch
<b>Chancellor Clay “celebrates community traditions” by chastising hackers.</b> Cognitive dissonance much? — thumbs down
Preventing Binge Drinking
MIT has a lot of alcohol emergencies — or maybe not, if you compare it to some other schools. But the reason these details make me cringe is because I can guarantee that every one of these emergencies was pretty awful for those involved.
The State of the Institute Hacker
With President Hockfield’s ‘State of the Institute’ just passed, I felt that it would be appropriate to address the state of the Institute hacker, who is after all, a member of MIT belonging to myriad macro and micro communities.
Letters to the Editor
I couldn’t agree more with Ethan Solomon’s article “Textbook Procurement Issues” in the Sept. 19 issue of The Tech — particularly the point about silly extra clicker devices that the students have to purchase.
This Isn’t a Bailout — It’s a Stickup
As of Sunday it appears that Congress will pass a Wall Street bailout bill with expenditures potentially totaling more than $700 billion. After a week of fear tactics put forth by the executive branch and the Federal Reserve, the Congress has apparently caved.
An Insider’s Take on the Amethyst Initiative
Over the previous two years, retired Middlebury College President, John McCardell, has spent considerable time and effort to engage American colleges in a serious dialogue regarding the dangerous effects of high-risk alcohol use on campus. While the use of alcohol on campus is nothing new, the increased incidence of excessive alcohol use and its associated negative effects are considered significant problems within institutions of higher education.
SafeRide Improves Based on Student Input
We’ve all been there: waiting outside in a below zero wind chill for a Saferide shuttle that was scheduled to arrive ten minutes ago. We ponder the possibility of just walking, but quickly abandon the idea because of the time already sunk waiting. You try to call Shuttle Track, but that system is unreliable at best. Guess you are just going to have to suffer. Along with dining, it seems that Saferide improvements are a perennial issue here at MIT, but improvements to Saferide — largely the results of student input — over the summer have vastly enhanced our ability to get around campus.